Gore Conditions (2015 - 2016)

Topridge was my pick of the day...I skied it twice after they shut the guns off and don't know how long it will last.  Nice bumps formed by the time I left at 1.  I hit Lies about 11 and thought it must have been nice early. Once past the headwall it really wasn't too bad...groomed and then carved up but not bumpy.  They had the guns going on Wildair on my route down and although some of the guns we quite wet, it skied real nice.  Uncas was the only other trail I skied...hard and slick, but my edges are not very good. Today was better than expected...I'll be back tomorrow

Not much to add from Yuke's and Suds' reports.  Twister, Wild Air and Quicksilver were all open.  Best skiing was under the guns, Wild Air and Sunway.  It really felt like one of those days in April when it doesn't get above freezing - everything was just kind of frozen up.  Guns started on Hawkeye late in the day, so that could be good tomorrow.  Surprised to see Open Pit closed.  Echo was OK, my first time over there this year.

Thin spots showing:


Snowed lightly for much of the day.  Amounted to about one one-hundredth of an inch:

Today was much better than I initially expected from when I rolled into town last night and saw how much snow had been washed away.

We had one of my daughter's friends who is not advanced enough for Uncas so I was kept on lower mountain today.  My older girls went up top and said that Headwaters and Tannery skied well, with a few icy patches near the Straightbrook lift.  They said Uncas had a lot of icy patches but was not terrible.  The did not attempt Hawkeye or Chatty.

I skied Twister about 8 times today -- it was the best conditions I found.  Other than immediately after the trail entrance, no real icy spots.  Skied really well.  The bottom was closed for racing, so you had to take 1A/2B to the Arena.  The Arena has dirt showing on skier's left, whales on skier's right.  I hit a rock right before lunch and went flying.   Hopefully they will groom those whales out.

We took Twister's little sister over to Burnt Ridge after lunch.  The remnants of what they blew on Sagamore last week is a depressing sight.  Echo was okay.  Best thing was that it was deserted.  They had flagged it a black diamond, presumably due to conditions.  

Sunway had big stretches of ice between Wild Air and Quicksilver entrances.  Once you got past that, it was pretty good, until the end where there was more sheets of ice.  Showcase looked extremely skied off, no one in our group was interested in it with Twister skiing so well.

Tahawus was in really good shape, considering the weather we've had.  Sleeping Bear was more icy and less fun than Tahawus.

My wife came and picked up most of the kids late, and me and my youngest rushed to the gondola to try to get to the top at least once today.  But by the time we got up there, they had roped off the entrance to Uncas and Topridge.  Oy vey.  Ruby Run, Tahawus, and Twister one more time, and by then the lifts were closed.

All in all, a really good day.  (Except for the time up the AE II and one punk in front of me threw an empty can of soda down right into the middle of Showcase.  I yelled at him, and then pointed him out to the ski patrol at the Saddle.  They seemed eager to catch up to them and "yell at a couple of Larry's" as the patroller put it.)

Petronio

The coverage level looks rather depressing.  They may not make April from the looks of it in February.  Especially since snowmaking ends for good next week.

Petrino's report is spot on.

The hill took a bigger hit than i expected.

Tom

snoloco wrote

The coverage level looks rather depressing.  They may not make April from the looks of it in February.  Especially since snowmaking ends for good next week.

Would not surprise me if that was not true.  I have seen them run guns past presidents week in years past.  I'm sure they still have days on the ticker with the late start.  

What I have seen is that Gore usually goes until the 2nd Saturday of President's Week, two weeks from today. A few years ago they did go beyond, blowing Rumor in March.  

You having any fun this year sno? Your outlook depresses me more than the weather.

Thanks for the updates all.

By the way, did anyone else notice the pile of snowmaking pipes at the top of the BRQ, right next to the entrance to the Abenaki Glade?  Looks to me like maybe they are being staged there for a conversion of Abenaki from glade to trail, with installation of snowmaking.  I always cry a little when we lose a glade, or when an off-the-map glade is put on the map, but in the big picture this would be a nice improvement and go a long way towards enhancing connectivity.

Adk Jeff wrote

Looks to me like maybe they are being staged there for a conversion of Abenaki from glade to trail, with installation of snowmaking.

YES FINALLY!!!!  . With snowmaking none the less!!!  No more Pipeline Traverse for me!!!

Today was much better than yesterday IMO. Guns were going in Hawkeye. Lies softened as it warmed up a little. You could almost peel layers when you turned. We still need a storm.

Those snow making pipes at the top of Abernacki were sitting there last year also. Hopefully they will cut the trail this year.

The cutting of Abenaki is going to happen. Can't say for sure this summer, but it seems likely.

Still probably not enough to pull the faithful away from Mount Sno.

The bummer of Burnt Ridge was on display this weekend. Echo and the Hedges were your choices. As we yoyoed Echo I was turned into a skijoring horse as I dragged my daughter on Cedars every loop. Eventually we would get close enough to slingshot her to the lift. At the lift they were scanning tickets - I guess to see how few people were using the lift.

Burnt Ridge High Speed Quad - barely used since 2008.

Oh don't even get me started.

The Burnt Ridge expansion could've been so much better if it weren't for the mother of all mistakes (the ski bowl) that pulled away all of it's improvement funds.  I made a trail map on Google Earth showing the locations for 3 possible new trails to cut on Burnt Ridge.  One is Abenaki, which would be a green down where Eagle's Nest branches off from Pipeline.  The others would be called Cirque and Boreas and would be cut near where the current glades area in those areas.  The glades would still be the same, and more could always be added.





I have Pipeline rated as a green also, because a blue should not be a trail where you have to push with your poles to ski.

All of this should have happened before the Ski Bowl, as well as the AE2 and future High Peaks Chair replacements.  Some snowmaking improvements should have happened first.

I bet the AE2 surpasses the BRQ in terms of hours very quickly.  The expansion that I showed in these pictures needs to be done ASAP.

Harvey wrote

Still probably not enough to pull the faithful away from Mount Sno.

Not easy to pull me away from the mountain that has my username in it.  Especially when it's free or at least discounted.

So you'd cut and blow Abenaki and connect to Pipeline to Eagles Nest as a route down to the base of the BRQ?

I want it to be cut and graded as a true Burnt Ridge run that would be enjoyable to lap, not a one-and-done connector trail like Hedges is.  You also would have the option of connecting to the Ski Bowl where it would intersect with Peaceful Valley.  I have it on a slightly different route than the glade, so it wouldn't be clearcutting the glade.  I think it's on a slightly different alignment than Barkeater as well, so that glade would stay in place.

So where would Abenaki come out or end?

It would drop you onto Eagle's Nest where it first branches off from Pipeline.  I believe that's below where Barkeater Glades drops you into Pipeline.  To get back from the Ski Bowl, you'd use the same route that you use now.

This is where it connects with Pipeline.  Abenaki comes in from the top and ends at the intersection.  The main route would continue as Eagle's nest, also the upper trail in the picture, and be significantly widened.  Pipeline is lower trail in this picture.  You would go to skier's right to return to the BRQ, or go to skier's left to get on Pipeline to go down to the Ski Bowl.  This route would not be widened, but would get snowmaking where it doesn't already have it.


The main route off the BRQ is the bright one in this picture.  

Hey Conditions Thread...anyone ski today?  Hawkeye was the only trail I really skied yesterday except for Echo when the Gondi was down. Did they mow it down(great bumps even after they shut the guns down).  They needed to mow down Topridge (Great Saturday not so Sunday, did they?).  I got there when it went down so went straight over to BRQ via Cedars.  If they weren't scanning tickets I wouldn't have needed one, would I?  Gore is what it is...a state run mountain with some awesome terrain.  It can't be too bad if some Kid from Jersey keeps talking about it (on the conditions thread no less).

P.S.  I love Abenaki as a glade and will cry when they clear it

Agreed, they do have some great terrain.  They just need to seriously upgrade their snowmaking firepower so that it all gets opened quicker.